Kawasaki factory undamaged by quake

KAWASAKI'S main production facility located at Akashi near Kobe in Japan was unaffected by last week’s earthquake.

However, as Kawasaki relies on a large number of outside component suppliers and vendors, the company has now announced a plan to legislate for any issues arising from delayed parts which are usually delivered on a daily basis from companies across Japan.

With production targets met until 16 March, the factory will temporarily halt production on all but one production line on the 17th and 18th, suspending all production on March the 21st - which is a National Holiday in Japan. Kawasaki’s Thailand based motorcycle factory remains unaffected by vendor supply issues and continues to manufacture mid-capacity motorcycles at full production levels.

Confident that any shortfall in production can be included in extra working during the rest of the month, the company is doing its best to combine the need to continue as a successful business with the understandable humanitarian issues that require urgent attention in the devastated regions of Japan.

“We hope that there will be no significant production delays and that the supply of motorcycles and spare parts will remain largely unaffected by any planned stoppages”, said Mr Yasushi Kawakami, the Managing Director of Kawasaki Motors Europe who is at the factory this week for a series of scheduled meetings. “Kawasaki staff in Japan, and across the world, would like to extend our deepest sympathies to those who continue to be affected by this terrible event”.